What I’m about to state is going to sound downright insane, so before I say it, I want to add the preface that I realize it ahead of time.
The Cardinals are going to have to figure out what to do with Ivan Herrera.
Huh? Figure out what to do with him? The guy just hit three home runs in one game, there’s nothing to be done. Write his name into the lineup every single day and reap the benefits. Problem solved. That was easier than the big red button in the old ‘Staples’ commercials. Now shut up, dummy.
The Cardinals’ fledgling franchise catcher hitting three home runs in one game is a good problem to have. But the implication that your fledgling franchise catcher hitting three home runs in one game--the first catcher in the history of the St. Louis Cardinals to accomplish the feat--is some kind of a problem rather than the coolest thing to happen for the Cardinals in months sounds, at best, off-putting.
So here’s what I mean by it.
Coming into the season, I considered Ivan Herrera arguably third in the pecking order if I were ranking the best pure hitters on the Cardinals in the here and now. Willson Contreras got my nod as the top hitter on the club, and considering all my bold predictions entering this season revolved around a Lars Nootbaar breakout campaign, I had him ranked second behind Contreras.
Though arguments could be heard for Nolan Arenado--especially now, after his hot start to this potential bounce-back season--I felt Herrera was right there in the conversation.
His prowess at the plate has never been in question. But his abilities behind it are where the Cardinals have been hoping to see the kind of growth that would make the decision to slot Herrera in as the primary catcher for 2025 a neat and tidy one.
Through the first week of the season, we’ve seen both sides of the Ivan Herrera experience play out in a familiar manner.
After he posted a robust .800 OPS in 259 plate appearances with the Cardinals last season, Herrera stormed into the spring ready for a breakout season of his own, posting a 1.091 OPS in Grapefruit League play.
After his three homer outburst on Wednesday, Herrera’s 1.200 SLG and 1.729 OPS would lead all qualifying MLB hitters--except for the fact that his 17 plate appearances through six team games leaves the 24-year-old backstop narrowly short of qualifying for statistical leaderboards (3.1 PAs per game is the threshold).
Through six games, Herrera has started only four times and played a complete game just once. And that’s where my original comment comes into play--how will the Cardinals handle Herrera’s playing time behind the plate in order to maximize his impact while standing next to it?
Herrera is performing exceptionally in the batter’s box, but for defensive purposes, we’ve seen team management usher him to the bench in late-and-close situations.
Generally, those moves will only come after it appears that the Cardinals won’t be as likely to benefit from his bat any further in that day’s contest--but sometimes, those moves feel regrettable when the opposition tallies a late rally, putting the onus back on the St. Louis lineup to bring home a winner.
Now, let’s recognize the rigors of the catcher position at large within the context of this conversation. Across MLB, you can count on one hand the number of catchers that played more than 140 games last season. And for most of the names on that list, they caught far fewer games than they played, with guys like Salvador Perez and Williams Contreras slotting in as a designated hitter frequently to keep their bats in the lineup.
The Cardinals have thus far filled that role in other ways, with Alec Burleson being the priority play against right-handed pitching and Luken Baker getting a crack at it against lefties. Friday’s news of a hamstring injury for Nolan Gorman could move Herrera up in the DH pecking order on days he doesn’t catch--and that might be the best way for the Cardinals to ensure he stays involved in as many daily batting orders as possible.
That’s because defensively, the Cardinals are still looking to see Herrera’s off-season strides in improving his throwing arm materialize in game action.
Herrera is 0-for-3 in caught stealing attempts, while Pedro Pages nabbed the lone attempted base stealer against him. I’ll be the first to acknowledge these samples are laughably small, but Herrera’s management of the running game was a notable topic last season when he went just 2-for-38 in throwing out base stealers. His success rate of just 5.26% ranked 49th out of 49 catchers who saw 30 or more opportunities.
Speaking to the media after Wednesday’s triumph, Herrera invoked one of his predecessors, Yadier Molina, and described the pride he takes in improving his skills behind the plate. In a recent interview with KMOX, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol brought up the possibility of Herrera switching to an approach that would see him throw out base stealers from his knees--so clearly the Cardinals are considering all possibilities behind the scenes, working to get Herrera up to speed. He values it, too, and makes it a priority to improve in his weaker areas as a player.
The emphasis on quality defense and game-calling behind the plate is obviously important for the pitching staff, but it will be interesting to see how much a game like Wednesday’s from Herrera offensively locks the ascending slugger into the lineup--whether he’s behind the plate or not.